Unity a theme as 3 presidents commemorate 9/11 in New York

By ZEKE MILLER and ALEXANDRA JAFFE

NEW YORK (AP) — Three American presidents stood somberly broadside by broadside Saturday astatine the National September 11 Memorial successful New York, sharing a infinitesimal of soundlessness to people the day of the nation’s worst violent onslaught with a show of unity.

Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton gathered astatine the tract wherever the World Trade Center towers fell 2 decades ago. Each antheral wore a bluish ribbon and held his hands implicit his bosom arsenic a procession marched a emblem done the memorial earlier hundreds of people, immoderate carrying photos of loved ones mislaid successful the attacks.

George W. Bush, who was president erstwhile the attacks occurred successful 2001, spoke astatine ceremonies astatine a memorial adjacent Shanksville, Pennsylvania, wherever passengers brought down a hijacked level that was headed for the U.S. Capitol. The erstwhile president said 9/11 showed that Americans could unite contempt their differences.

Before the New York City lawsuit began, a pitchy flew overhead successful an eerie echo of the attacks, drafting a glimpse from Biden toward the sky. For overmuch of the ceremonial helium stood with his arms crossed and caput bowed, listening portion the names of the victims were read. At 1 point, helium wiped a teardrop from his eye.

Biden was a U.S. legislator erstwhile hijackers commandeered 4 planes and carried retired the attack. He was Obama’s vice president successful 2011 erstwhile the state observed the 10th day of the strikes. Saturday’s commemoration was his archetypal arsenic commandant successful chief, opening successful New York City and culminating precocious day astatine the Pentagon, wherever the world’s mightiest subject suffered an unthinkable stroke to its precise home.

In betwixt Biden visited the Shanksville memorial, helium and his wife, Jill, walking with relatives of the clang victims into the grassy tract wherever the pitchy crashed. He reflected connected the request for unity erstwhile helium dropped by the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department to present Bud Light and convey archetypal responders who responded to the level clang that Sept. 11.

“Everyone says, ‘Biden, wherefore bash you support insisting connected trying to bring the state together?’ the president told reporters. “That’s the happening that’s going to impact our well-being much than thing else.”

It is present Biden who shoulders the work borne by his predecessors to forestall different strike. He indispensable bash that against fears of a emergence successful coercion aft the hasty U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, wherever those who planned the Sept. 11 attacks were sheltered.

But connected a time erstwhile his federation recalled its daze and sorrow, Biden near the speech-making to others.

Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, spoke successful Shanksville astatine the Flight 93 National Memorial, praising the courageousness of those passengers and the resilience of Americans who came unneurotic successful the days aft the attacks.

“In a clip of outright terror, we turned toward each other,” she said. “If we bash the hard enactment of moving unneurotic arsenic Americans, if we stay agreed successful purpose, we volition beryllium prepared for immoderate comes next.”

Bush, speaking earlier Harris, said that truthful overmuch of American authorities has go “a bare entreaty to anger, fearfulness and resentment.”

“On America’s time of proceedings and grief, I saw millions of radical instinctively drawback for a neighbor’s hand, and rally for the origin of 1 another. That is the America I know,” helium said.

Biden and Harris and their spouses ended the time of remembrance astatine the National Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. The president and archetypal woman took a infinitesimal of soundlessness earlier a wreath studded with white, purple and reddish flowers successful beforehand of memorial benches marking the 184 victims of the attack.

Former President Donald Trump skipped the authoritative 9/11 memorial ceremonies and alternatively visited a occurrence presumption and constabulary precinct successful New York.

Biden, speaking astatine the Shanksville firehouse, praised Bush’s connection of unity, telling reporters successful Pennsylvania that helium thought the erstwhile president “made a truly bully code today. Genuinely.”

Biden mentioned that helium had taken photos with immoderate boys wearing Trump hats astatine the firehouse. The president framed the request for unity arsenic a important to the occurrence of democracies, asking: “Are we going to, successful the adjacent four, five, six, 10 years, show that democracies tin work, oregon not?”

Unity was a taxable that Biden emphasized successful a taped code released by the White House precocious Friday. He spoke astir the “true consciousness of nationalist unity” that emerged aft the attacks, seen successful “heroism everyplace — successful places expected and unexpected.”

“To maine that’s the cardinal acquisition of September 11,” helium said. “Unity is our top strength.”

Biden is the 4th president to console the federation connected the day of that acheronian day, 1 that has shaped galore of the astir consequential home and overseas argumentation decisions made by the main executives implicit the past 2 decades.

Bush was speechmaking a publication to Florida schoolchildren erstwhile the planes slammed into the World Trade Center. He spent that time being kept retired of Washington for information reasons — a determination then-Sen. Biden urged him to reconsider, the existent president has written — and past delivered a brief, halting code that nighttime from the White House to a terrified nation.

The violent onslaught would specify Bush’s presidency. The pursuing year, helium chose Ellis Island arsenic the determination to present his archetypal day address, the Statue of Liberty implicit his enarthrosis arsenic helium pledged, “What our enemies person begun, we volition finish.”

The wars successful Iraq and Afghanistan were inactive deadly erstwhile Obama visited the Pentagon to people his archetypal Sept. 11 successful bureau successful 2009.

By the clip Obama spoke astatine the 10th anniversary, onslaught mastermind Osama bin Laden was dead, killed successful a May 2011 Navy SEAL raid. Though the federation remained entangled overseas, and vigilant against violent threats, the day became much astir healing.

Trump pledged to get the U.S. retired of Afghanistan, but his words during his archetypal Sept. 11 day ceremonial successful 2017 were a vivid informing to terrorists, telling “these savage killers that determination is nary acheronian country beyond our reach, nary sanctuary beyond our grasp, and obscurity to fell anyplace connected this precise ample earth.”

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Jaffe reported from Washington.